Month: September 2011

Crellin Elementary School is set to receive a $10,000 grant and $100,000 in donated equipment and professional resources from the Intel Foundation. This award comes after Crellin Elementary joined just six other schools from across the country to be named as one of the 2011 Intel Schools of Distinction.

Through this award, the Intel Corporation, which partners with sponsoring companies to distribute around $1 million in grants and awards each year, recognizes schools for the implementation of innovative math and science programs.

Crellin was chosen along with 17 other finalists to attend Intel’s award ceremony last week (Sept. 20) in Washington, D.C., where winners were announced. Representing Garrett County at the ceremony were school system administrators and Crellin Elementary teachers, including the school’s principal, Dr. Dana McCauley.

“It was really a humbling experience and a privilege to be able to join the other finalists in D.C.,” McCauley stated. “We met with so many excellent educators and were inspired by all of their stories.”

After a visit to Capitol Hill and a Tuesday-night gala event, Crellin Elementary was honored for its “extraordinary commitment to educational excellence and innovation,” winning for its performance in mathematics.

“Improving math and science education is one of the critical issues we see facing the United States if it is to compete effectively in a global economy,” says Wendy Hawkins, executive director of the Intel Foundation.

“It is encouraging to see examples of such excellence from across the country. These schools launch their students on a path to lifelong learning with programs that are rich, exciting and demanding.”

The Intel Foundation chose its winners based on its criteria of extraordinary commitment to instituting 21st century teaching and learning environments, as well as the implementation of innovative programs that inspire students to excel in the areas of math and science.

The Board of Garrett County Commissioners will hold a follow-up hearing on the McHery Water System – Water Connection and User Fees and Connection Amortization Policy this Saturday, Oct. 1, at 9 a.m. in the Garrett College auditorium.

The event is scheduled to review and receive public commentary on proposed changes to the existing policy and to address questions on expansion of service to the water district.

The commissioners and GC Department of Public Utilities personnel have compiled answers to several questions that were presented during the initial public hearing on Aug. 27. These are available on the county government web site at garrettcounty.org.

Interested persons who may have questions on this issue are asked to attend the Oct. 1 hearing. For more information, one may call the DPU at 301-334-6983 or the county administrator or commissioners at 301-334-8970.

Oct 4 Tuesday $3.50 Movie of the Week Special Bring the entire family to Garrett 8 Cinemas for our select movie of the week for only $3.50. Movie showtime listings are available online at www.garrett8cinema.com or 301.387.2500. Date: October 4, 2011 Website: http://www.garrett8cinema.com Location: Garrett 8 Cinemas

Contact: 301.387.2500 Date/Time Details: All Day Fees/Admission: $3.50 per person

Oct 7 Day of Caring/Sharing United Way of Garrett County will have volunteers working at various locations in the county. Free to participate. Free t-shirts, breakfasts and lunch for participants. Date: October 7, 2011 Location: Oakland Fire Hall Contact: 877.597.2700 Date/Time Details: 8 am – noon

Oct 7 Relay For Life Interest Rally Residents of Garrett County—we need your help! We want to make the 2012 Relay For Life of Garrett County the best one yet, but we need committee members and teams to make that happen! Come learn about all the exciting ways to get involved in your Relay For Life event. All are welcome!

Oct 8 Geocaching 101 The Maryland Geocaching Society will be presenting an introductory course for those interested in geocaching. The class is free of charge and a limited supply of GPS units will be available for loan during the class. Date: October 8, 2011 Location: New Germany Lake House Contact: 301.895.5453 EMail: park-new-germany@dnr.state.md.us Date/Time Details: 9 am

Oct 11 Relay For Life Interest Rally Residents of Garrett County—we need your help! We want to make the 2012 Relay For Life of Garrett County the best one yet, but we need committee members and teams to make that happen! Come learn about all the exciting ways to get involved in your Relay For Life event. All are welcome!

Oct 12 Dogsledding Presentation and Kennel Visit Enjoy an educational and entertaining dogsledding presentation. Grill mushers; see equipment; hug gorgeous and friendly HUSKIES; watch an exciting film of them working/pulling (or see a real team run if it’s cold enough) and learn a lot! No reservations required this day. It is a two hour program starting at 10 am. Price: $20 each.

Note: We offer this same tour (but by reservation only and with a minimum price) almost every day. Please see our website for more info: “Tours” page.

Oct 12 Relay For Life Interest Rally Residents of Garrett County—we need your help! We want to make the 2012 Relay For Life of Garrett County the best one yet, but we need committee members and teams to make that happen! Come learn about all the exciting ways to get involved in your Relay For Life event. All are welcome!

Oct 12 Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra “Ballroom With A Twist” Be dazzled as an astonishing line-up of stars from American Idol, Dancing With The Stars, So You Think You Can Dance and High School Musical joins Marvin Hamlisch and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra in “Ballroom With a Twist”. Call the Garrett Lakes Arts Festival for tickets ($35 each) and details about carpooling from Garrett College Date: October 12, 2011 Time: 7:30 PM – 9:30 PM Website: http://www.artsandentertainment.orgLocation: Morgantown, WVU Creative Arts Center Contact: Garrett Lakes Arts Council 301.387.3082 EMail: glaf@artsandentertainment.org Date/Time Details: October 12, 2011 7:30 PM Fees/Admission: $35.00

Oct 13 Relay For Life Interest Rally Residents of Garrett County—we need your help! We want to make the 2012 Relay For Life of Garrett County the best one yet, but we need committee members and teams to make that happen! Come learn about all the exciting ways to get involved in your Relay For Life event. All are welcome!

Oct 15 – Oct 16 Autumn Glory Craft & Gift Sale We have a new and expanded location for this year’s Autumn Glory Craft & Gift Sale presented by Susquehanna Bank. The show will be located in the New Exhibit Hall at the Garrett County Fairgrounds on Route 219 (Garrett Highway) in McHenry, MD. This year’s Craft and Gift Sale will be October 15-16, 2011. The new location allows more space for crafters, all exhititors will be in the centralized location and we will have plenty of parking spaces for our shoppers. We will have a wide variety of crafts and gifts including woodworking, candles, painted decor, jewelry, specialty foods and much more. Hours are 10 AM – 6 PM on Saturday and 10 AM – 4 PM on Sunday. You will love our new show and our new location.Refreshment sales benefit Hospice of Garrett County.Free admission.

Oct 16 Dogsledding Presentation and Kennel Visit! (2) Enjoy an educational and entertaining dogsledding presentation. Grill mushers, see equipment, hug gorgeous and friendly HUSKIES, watch an exciting film of them pulling (or the actual team running when it’s cold enough) and learn alot! No reservations required this day. It is a two hour program, starting at 10:00am. We offer this same tour (but by reservation and minimum price) almost every day. Please see our website for more info. $20/person. Date: October 16, 2011 Time: 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM Website: http://www.HuskyPowerDogsledding.com Location: HUSKY POWER DOGSLEDDING’s home kennel

2008 Bumble Bee Road

Accident, MD 21520

ONLY FIVE MINUTES FROM THE WISP, near the GC Airport Contact: Linda or Mike Herdering EMail: Linda@HuskyPowerDogsledding.com Date/Time Details: Wednesday Oct. 12, 2011

BAYARD, W.Va. — With more than 300 residents, all receiving their mail through post office boxes in Bayard, the United States Postal Service has announced that Bayard is on the list for the next round of possible closures.

“A great pall fell over our town when it was announced that our post office was being considered for closure,” said Mayor Steve Durst on Thursday morning.

A meeting was held Wednesday night to get public input on possible closure.

The letter also stated that in the event that it does close, Bayard residents will be able to get their mail at the Gormania Post Office, which currently serves around 25 residents.

“Personally, I want no post offices closed, but in this matter it makes better sense if one has to be closed, that Gormania’s be closed,” said Durst.

USPS takes into account several factors, including the revenue and working hours that the post office operates.

Gormania shows higher revenue than the Bayard post office and more hours worked. Durst said that one of the reasons for this is that the Bayard post office provides the post office boxes to every resident free of charge, and Gormania charges an annual fee.

Durst said that since the bridge from Bayard to Garrett County closed in 1988, Bayard has lost the business of people living just across the line in Maryland. Now to reach Bayard, people travel around Gormania. Durst said that this accounts for Gormania’s higher revenue.

“Presently, some people walk to their (post office box) located here in Bayard and have no means of doing otherwise,” said Durst.

Each post office being reviewed will have a feasibility study and public meetings before ultimately being closed. Cathy Yarosky, a representative from the USPS, said that right now, there are no certain plans.

“No decision has been made,” said Yarosky. “We look at a lot of criteria.”

If the post office would be closed, there are several options for people to get their mail.

The mail could be rerouted through Gormania, where residents would have a new post office box, the post office could put up a free-standing post office box or it could organize a village post office in one of the local businesses.

Durst said that none of these options is viable, since residents would have to travel a round trip of five miles to pick up their mail in Gormania, there would be no one to maintain a free standing box and that businesses are required to absorb the expense of operating a village post office.

In an effort to stop the process, Durst has written multiple letters to U.S. Sens. Jay Rockefeller and David McKinley. He said that both senators are behind the post office staying open, as is state Delegate Allen Evans.

“The Postal Service has an obligation, under the law, to make sure that rural customers have reasonable access to mail services,” said Rockefeller in a letter to Durst. “I will be closely monitoring the closure process to make sure that the Postal Service is living up to these important responsibilities.”

Both Durst and his wife, Glenna, presented formal responses at the meeting, which approximately 60 people in the Bayard area attended.

“Bayard is incorporated with a volunteer fire department, a police department, a bank … two businesses … two churches and close to 300 people. It seems to me that it makes more sense to keep a post office here than in a small community, like Gormania,” said Glenna, adding that, obviously, Gormania would not like to lose its post office either.

BALTIMORE, Sep 29, 2011 (BUSINESS WIRE) — Constellation Energy today announced that its retail energy business affiliate has started construction on a 16.1 megawatt DC grid-connected photovoltaic (PV) solar installation in Emmitsburg, Md. Part of the state of Maryland’s Generating Clean Horizons initiative, the approximately $60 million solar facility will be financed, owned and operated by Constellation Energy. Renewable electricity produced by the system will be purchased by the state of Maryland’s Department of General Services and the University System of Maryland under 20-year solar power purchase agreements.

“Our state’s growing ‘green’ sector is vital to our ability to create jobs and compete in the new economy,” said Gov. Martin O’Malley. “I’d like to thank Constellation Energy for their commitment to helping us move toward our renewable energy goals. Together, we will continue to make Maryland a leader in the nation’s efforts for clean energy, bring more green jobs to our communities and create a more sustainable future.”

Constellation Energy employs approximately 75 people to construct the solar installation, and expects that workforce to reach a peak of 150 people during the height of construction. The system is scheduled for operation in early 2012 and is expected to produce more than 22 million kilowatt hours of emissions-free electricity per year. Generating the same amount of electricity using nonrenewable sources would result in the release of 15,170 metric tons of carbon dioxide or the equivalent emissions from 2,975 passenger vehicles annually, according to U.S. EPA data.

“Projects like this are part of Constellation Energy’s commitment to provide clean energy products and services for our customers, both in Maryland and nationally,” said Mark Huston, head of Constellation Energy’s retail energy business. “Constellation Energy’s new 70-megawatt Criterion Wind Project, located in Garrett County, Md., meets the clean energy needs of approximately 23,000 households. We look forward to developing additional renewable projects that will help Maryland meet its environmental goals.”

State funds that Allegany County relied on for highways are no longer a sure thing The Cumberland Times-News Thu Sep 29, 2011, 11:21 PM EDT

CUMBERLAND — The state commission charged with examining transportation funding wraps up its work next month and is required to issue a final report to Gov. Martin O’Malley and the Maryland General Assembly by Nov. 1.

Garrett County Administrator Monty Pagenhardt believes the recommendations of the Blue Ribbon Commission on Maryland Transportation Funding, of which he is a member, can be a positive step forward to address funding issues plaguing the state and localities.

“I think the commission was appointed for a purpose. … I am optimistic that the recommendations will be considered by the governor and General Assembly,” Pagenhardt said. He cautioned, though, that he doesn’t expect the changes to come quickly.

Among the important issues the commission is reviewing is a recommendation to put transportation funds, especially highway user funds, in something of a lock box.

The so-called Transportation Trust Fund is regularly raided to repair gaps in the budget, state Sen. George Edwards said. Those raids have amounted to about $2 billion over the past few years.

“That’s been a big part of the discussion. I am a representative of the rural counties and that has just crippled … county transportation funding,” Pagenhardt said.

The Senate Budget Committee heard from the transportation commission as well. Edwards has said he would like to keep transportation funding where it belongs instead of continuing the practice of transfers into the state’s general fund.

“We need to stop robbing Peter to pay Paul,” Edwards said.

The highway user funds once were something Allegany County could count on for road repairs.

The county was estimated to receive $148,000 for fiscal 2012. That revenue used to be about $5 million, county officials have said. In 2007, the county share of the highway user revenue was $4.8 million; in 2008, $4.6 million. Garrett County, too, has taken a hit from the highway funding cuts. According to the draft fiscal 2012 budget, the county expects $161,500 in highway user revenue. That’s down from $221,370 in 2011 and $257,207 in 2010.

Another recommendation the commission will likely make involves allowing local governments to have the ability to raise their own funds, through taxes, to pay for transportation needs, possibly through a property tax surcharge, according to commission documents.

Pagenhardt doesn’t think Garrett County commissioners would be interested in that option.

Edwards recently said he hopes legislators will rebuild the state highway user funds, but he’s realistic.

“You’re not going to see it all at once,” he said. “There is not a whole lot of enthusiasm for tax increases,” even among Senate Democrats, Edwards said.

Changing the way the state funds mass transit is key to fixing the transportation budget, Edwards said. If you exclude the funds set aside for repairing toll roads and bridges, mass transit is the single largest portion of the transportation budget, eating up the money needed to repair roads and bridges, Edwards said.

Maryland, he said, is the only state he knows of that doesn’t use a local tax to help fund mass transit in the areas where it is heavily used.

The first step should be some sort of cap on mass transit funding, Edwards said. Those savings can then go into the trust fund.

— OAKLAND — A Grant County couple was arrested recently on numerous burglary and theft charges stemming from alleged burglaries of a Deep Creek Lake residence that occurred over a seven-month period, according to the Garrett County Sheriff’s Office.

Joshua Todd Culp, 30, and Jessica Dawn Picou, 23, both of Mount Storm, W.Va., were charged with multiple counts of first-degree burglary, theft between $1,000 and $10,000, destruction of property and possession of burglary toolss.

Culp remained jailed Wednesday at the Garrett County Detention Center on bond of $450,000 and Picou remained jailed on bond of $70,000.

Both defendants were served arrest warrants when investigators located them in a campground area in Grantsville.

Police said the burglaries occurred between December and June when residences were forcibly entered.

Flat-screen televisions, DVD players and other electronic items were stolen. Some of the stolen property was recovered during the course of the investigation.

The sheriff’s office is continuing to investigate the matter. Investigations are also being conducted by Maryland State Police regarding other breaking and enterings in the Deep Creek Lake area.

MCHENRY — A deer hunter who used his crossbow to kill a bear in Garrett County will not be charged, according to Sgt. Art Windemuth of the Maryland Natural Resources Police.

The incident took place Sept. 20 on private land one-quarter of a mile west of U.S. Route 219 in the area of Will O’ The Wisp, according to Windemuth.

“The hunter told officers he was in a tree hunting over a bait pile when the sow (165 pounds) and two cubs came to the bait. He said the sow climbed the tree he was in, but went back to the bait after he hollered at it,” Windemuth said.

The bear once more climbed the tree, coming within a few feet of the hunter who feared for his life and shot the bruin, according to Windemuth.

“The hunter immediately called the wildlife office in Cumberland. Officers were dispatched and found the bear, which was dead, and the cubs had left the area,” Windemuth said. “All the evidence, including the angle of the arrow in the bear, substantiated the hunter’s account.”

Windemuth said the matter was presented to the Garrett County state’s attorney, who chose not to charge the hunter.

Harry Spiker of the Maryland Wildlife & Heritage Service, said the dead bear was untagged and did not wear a radio collar. “So we had no history on this bear,” Spiker said.

“The hunter described the cubs as being small. We believe if cubs make it to July 1 they can survive on their own. They might still be nursing some, but they are also eating solid foods and know enough at that point to forage on their own. They would probably weigh about 40 pounds each now.”

OAKLAND — Alli Shaffer scored a goal and assisted on the other two as fifth-ranked Southern knocked off top-ranked Northern, 3-0, in high school girls soccer Tuesday night at Southern.

Tess Watson scored the only goal of the first half, off of a corner kick by Shaffer, with just under 10 minutes before the half.

The lead doubled in the opening minutes of the second half when Shaffer scored on a feed from Jill Yant. Shaffer tacked on an unassisted goal with 12:04 remaining.

“We were really clicking tonight, especially the defense, and I was really pleased with everyone’s effort,’’ said Southern head coach Sara Shaffer.

Southern led in shots 15-6. Annie Martin made four saves in goal for the Rams. Alex Diehl had seven and Kloey Werner one for the Huskies.

The Garrett County rivals split their two regular season meetings as Northern had won earlier in the year, 2-1. Because last night’s game was a non-conference game, the Huskies remained 5-0 in the Appalachian Mountain Athletic Conference.